Teach me about Vista Jagmaster pickups

singlepup · Post by **singlepup** » Tue Feb 09, 2016 3:43 pm

I love the pickups in my Vista Jagmaster. They handle delay and modulation effects so well. I'd like to find a similar pickup and put it in my Jag-Stang.

There is hardly any info about Vista Jagmaster pups on the webz. Any info you guys can share? Are they Alnico or Ceramic? What's the ouput like, vintage or hot? Any specific after market pickups that might be similar?

BearBoy · Post by **BearBoy** » Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:32 pm

Thought I'd try and be super helpful and check my Squier book for you. Somewhat disappointingly they are described in the specifications section as "two white coverless humbuckers".

Pretty sure you'll be able to track down the exact pair using that information

mezzio13 · Post by **mezzio13** » Tue Feb 09, 2016 5:11 pm

My Vista MM was just that. A nondescript white humbucker. It didn't even have anything stamped on it.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Tue Feb 09, 2016 9:07 pm

You can measure the output with a multimeter.
I'd imagine they are based on a standard PAF.

I sold my Vista Jagmaster a long time ago and remember little beyond how nice the neck was.

George · Post by **George** » Tue Feb 09, 2016 9:12 pm

this is hotrod's neck of the woods

Noirie. · Post by **Noirie.** » Tue Feb 09, 2016 10:44 pm

Aren't they Vista-tone humbuckers?

I remember the bridge humbucker in my Venus sucked.

wadeaminute · Post by **wadeaminute** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 2:28 pm

Could we assume that they are the same ones that are in the Super-Sonics? If so, I likely have extras, as I've swapped out the pickups on five of my six guitars. They are black and not white, though.

singlepup · Post by **singlepup** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 2:55 pm

^not sure? I've never played a Super-Sonic, but on Youtube they don't sound as bright as my Jagmaster.

George wrote:this is hotrod's neck of the woods

Yeah, I've read the Jagmaster thread like 10 times and googled this to death. "Vista-tone" pickups is still my best guess.

Getting a multimeter is a great idea, but not sure I can be arsed to do it...

Thanks for your input, guys

singlepup · Post by **singlepup** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 3:05 pm

Not sure if this is accurate, but:

http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/vie ... =9&t=42940

(I finally included the word "output" in my google search)

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 5:10 pm

It's not output, it's resistance. That may be correlated with output as more turns of wire = higher resistance = higher output. The output would be read in millivolts not kilohms.

Addam · Post by **Addam** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 5:35 pm

I think the gauge of the wire used on the coils also impacts the resistance, but not necessarily the output of the pickup.
Thicker wire = less resistance per wind.

*Edited for clarity* what I tried to explain in a clunky way is DC resistance isn't always analogous to loudness.

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Thu Feb 11, 2016 5:15 pm

Yes, an additional factor; trying to get more turns in the same space by using a thinner gauge will put the resistance up more than simply more turns.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Mon May 09, 2016 1:18 am

George wrote:this is hotrod's neck of the woods

have just seen this.

those pickups are the absolute tits, or balls, depending on your persuasion.

they were commonly described as "vista tone" humbuckers, but i was never able to pinpoint exactly what that meant, or what exactly they were.

i wish i still had my vista, but who knows where the fuck it is now. crazy ex of mine probably donated it to the curbside, along with my beloved white epiphone dot studio. ugh, this has actually reminded me precisely how much of a terrible, heartless person she is. fml. i wish my parents were slowly getting visitation time with my guitars, as well as my daughter.

anyway, keep your eyes peeled on ebay.

Fakir Mustache · Post by **Fakir Mustache** » Mon May 09, 2016 9:47 am

I've tried the ones in the Super-Sonic one time, they seemed kind of compressed, I don't remember if they were set up high to the strings, but they got a good distorted sound. Not as open or touch sensitive as PAF style, but with their own sound, different.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Mon May 09, 2016 1:59 pm

yes, as much as i wanted to believe that the supersonics would sound the same, i was never able to get the same all-around magnificence out of them.

the vista jagmaster pickups sounded like lush single coils when they were clean, yet played infinitely well with distortion of any kind. the bridge pickup through fuzz with the tone dialed back about 1/5th is something i still dream about.

singlepup · Post by **singlepup** » Mon May 09, 2016 6:12 pm

Yeah, I'm going to try to buy another Vista Jagmaster in the next 6 months. The one I have now is my favorite guitar. Probably just gonna throw a PAF in the Jag-Stang sooner or later.